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USS Hornet Aircraft Carrier makes Alameda a boat-viewing paradise!

By Tim Viall

For a day-long or weekend getaway sure to please youngsters and boat-lovers alike, start with a tour of the USS Hornet aircraft carrier and thousands of pleasure boats in Alameda, CA, just 80 minutes from Stockton.

The Hornet would cement its place in history again, when on July 24, 1969, President Richard Nixon and other dignitaries would stand on the Hornet flight deck when the carrier recovered astronauts Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins and their spacecraft Columbia after Armstrong and Aldrin became the first humans to walk on the moon.

The USS Hornet is open for tours at the Alameda Navy Ship Yard in Alameda, just 80 minutes from Stockton. Also on display Is the USNS Cape Henry, moored across the pier from the Hornet, a unique “at the ready” Navy cargo ship with a diagonally-cut stern, so it can immediately tie up at piers in the world and disgorge its military cargo.

While in Alameda, we also took the time to walk through several marinas. Alameda, an island in the San Francisco Bay and immediately adjacent to Oakland, is home to several thousand private yachts and sailboats. It’s a kid’s and boat-lover’s paradise!

The promotion will begin on Tuesday, March 17th and will go through Wednesday, April 15th. Splash and the Ports Front Office are scheduled to appear at locations within San Joaquin County to distribute tickets to lucky fans, in addition to holding social media promotions.